Aptos’ Ron Riley [Bike Station Aptos] also competed. He placed ninth in the men’s 70-plus age division, finishing two of three laps Thursday. James Wagner [USA, Bike Masters- WA] won, going three laps in 42:52.

Ortenblad suffered a mechanical issue during the second lap that pushed him to the back of the course before he was eventually pulled, according a post on his Facebook account. Ortenblad finished in 39th place with no time for Team USA.

The Netherlands’ Mike Teunissen, 21, won in 48 minutes, 40 seconds.

This was the first time all the Cyclo-cross World Championships races were held in the U.S. Ortenblad also said via Facebook that he had never before heard such loud cheers for someone at the back of a race.

Three cyclocross racers represented Santa Cruz County at the top of the podium in the NorCal vs. SoCal State Cyclocross Championships in Bakersfield over the weekend. Santa Cruz’s Tobin Ortenblad and Lindsey Collins, as well as Bonny Doon’s Justin Robinson, each took home a win in the annual battle of California cyclocross.

Spanning nearly 60 years in age, five cyclocross racers from Santa Cruz County medaled in their respective divisions at the USA Cycling Cyclo-Cross Nationals in Madison, Wis., from Jan. 9-13.

Aptos’ Ron Riley [Bike Station Aptos] was the sole rider from the area to win a race — although he did it as the only entrant — at the ripe young age of 78. Riley, who is the defending world masters champion for his age group, won the men’s masters division for those 75-79 years old. He completed the race in 46 minutes, 33 seconds.

Ortenblad took bronze in the Cat 1/2/3 Under-23 division, crossing the finish line in 46:53. Yannick Eckmann of Boulder won that race in 44:42. Melena took third in the women’s masters 35-39 age division, crossing the finish line in 39:28. Corey Coogan Cisek won in 37:47.

Five Santa Cruz County cyclocross riders were named series champions over the weekend.

Scott Chapin, of Santa Cruz, closed out the 2012 Central Coast Cyclocross season by winning the elite men’s Cat 1/2/3/4 division series. He accumulated 236 points through seven races (with the lowest two scores thrown out). San Francisco’s Andrew Juiliano took second [205] and Los Gatos’ Julian Gomez-Villafane took third [204].

Both Chapin and Juiliano ride for Bicycleblue book/HRS/Rocklobster, while Gomez-Villafane rides for Ibis/Buy-cell.com.

Also from the county, Bonny Doon’s Justin Robinson [Cal Giant], who won Sunday’s season finale races in both the elite and master men’s 35-plus A-divisions at Fort Ord, took the master men’s overall title with 250 points; Santa Cruz’s Natasha Perry [Bicycleblue book/HRS/Rocklobster] won the master women’s 35-plus all-division title with 245 points; Santa Cruz’s Chance Tiner [SCJC], who also won his race Sunday, took the junior men’s 15-18 age division title with 245 points; and Santa Cruz’s Geneva Burkhardt [Georgiana Bruce Kirby-Santa Cruz] took the junior women’s division title, winning with 226 points.

Race results and series standings included in this report are from the CCCX website.

Santa Cruz’s Katie Melena and Tobin Ortenblad made the top 20 in two consecutive days of elite races, respectively, at the Cyclocross Los Angeles Cross After Dark Weekend to lead a small contingent of Santa Cruz County riders.

Truckee’s Katerina Nash [unattached] won the Saturday race in 38:46.358 and Sunday’s race in 41:21.417.

Ortenblad [California Giant Berry Farms/Specialized] on Saturday placed 18th in the men’s elite race, finishing in 1:01:03.152. Other riders from Santa Cruz who made the top 25 of the men’s elite race were Aaron Bradford [unattached], who took 21st place [1:02:06.062], and Scott Chapin [Bicycle Bluebook/HRS/Rock Lobster], who took 25th [1:03:02.371].

Vermont’s James Driscoll [Cannondale Cyclocrossworld] won in 56:57.326.

Sunday, Ortenblad took 17th in the men’s elite race, finishing in 1:05:10.499. Bradford was 21st [1:05:36.310] and Chapin finished one lap for 25th.

Santa Cruz’s Tobin Ortenblad eked out a win over the Jacques-Maynes brothers, Andy and Ben, in the Surf City Cyclocross elite men’s A single-speed race at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville on Sunday.

Ortenblad finished 10 laps in 59 minutes, 58 seconds for the win. He was the only rider in the field to break and hour.

Ortenblad [California Giant Berry Farms] followed up his 30th-place finish on Saturday with a 22nd-place finish in the men’s pro/Cat 1 division Sunday. He crossed the finish line in 58 minutes, 51 seconds.

Jeremy Powers [RAPHA-FOCUS] of Easthampton, Mass., won the race in 55:12.

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Who’s behind “Out and About”

The "Out and About" blog is run by writers for the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
Freelancer Karen Kefauver is not only an avid cyclist, but also a sports and travel journalist whose column "Spin City" regularly appears on the Sentinel website.
Julie Jag, Sports Editor of the Sentinel, is a native Coloradan who loves a good workout as much as a good adventure, which are oftentimes chronicled in her "Out There" or "Snow Job" columns.
Read more from them at www.santacruzsentinel.com.